College, traditionally, is only a short portion of your life.. Four years to be exact. It is the brief period of time between being a reckless highschool kid, and the adult with a career that you will be for the rest of your life. College is also the time when most people are likely to “find themselves.“ who they are, what they want to do and who they want to be from then on.
There is only so much one can do in so little time, and between classes and responsibilities one can forget about the experiences that are supposed to make you who you are. Since I am a firm believer going out and taking destiny into my own hands, I thought I would write a list of things that may help you do just that. So here are 5 things every college student should do before tossing their graduation caps up in the air.
1. Study Abroad
I promise, traveling will never be cheaper than when you are studying abroad. This is also a good idea if you’re like me, and are looking to travel to places where you don’t speak the native language and would feel safer traveling with familiar faces!
2. Join an organization
This is part of the whole “finding yourself” process. To join an organization, you first need to figure out your interests and passions. In doing so, you’ll find out more about yourself. It will be a new way to surround yourself with people who care about the same things that you do.
3. Surround yourself with diversity
Your university is like its own small version of our world. There are people from different countries, different cultures, different lifestyle backgrounds and they are all in the same situation and environment that you are too. You should go out of your comfort zone and meet a few people who are nothing like you or anyone you’ve met before. The working world is filled with diversity, and the more you learn about different cultures and how to respect them, the better you will be at making connections in your future job!
4. Learn something new
Since you’re in college you’re learning new things every day. But I mean learning something truly new. Learn a language, how to really cook, an instrument or something you’ve been wanting to learn for a long time.
5. Learn to live on a budget
This is one of the hardest parts about being a college student and the most cliche too. The truth is that it’s very easy to spend all your money in small buys, and the next thing you know, your bank account balance is at $0. Learning to live on a budget will not only help you in the present time, but also in the future.